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Topic: Skilled workers for volunteers? (Read 7073 times)

Hello to all. We have followed this forum for a while now and find it to be very informative and very useful so we really value your opinions.. We are in the planning stages of making the "Great Escape"—we are just waiting for our house to sell and with the high end house sales down in our neck of the woods here in Texas this could take a while. We have been RVing for many years and recently purchased our new fifth wheel and we are looking forward to full timing. We will subscribe to workamp.com when we get closer to our departure date. We are only looking for a camp site and some utilities and not looking for ant additional income. Here are some of the questions we have.

Are the volunteer positions and work camp jobs just geared for camp hosts? I am a 33 year master carpenter and would love to use my skills out there. I also know just about every phase of construction and how to use just about any tool involved with construction from painting and sheetrock to electrical and plumbing. My question is will these skills benefit me in the world of work camping and is there a need for my type of knowledge? I always said the only thing I cant fix is a broken heart. I have many good years left in me and would rather my body parts wear out than rust out.

Thanks in advance for any input. Look forward to meeting some of you some day. Y’all seem like such a nice bunch!

DW & I do a lot of volunteering. Generally as campground hosts, but not always. There are all kinds of opportunities out there for volunteers. Someone like yourself should have no problem keeping booked. I have found that even those not advertising for volunteers are generally open to same.

You might also 6try the Habitat for Humanities work sites. I know a few people who join them in their builds and usually it is in exchange for a campsite. There was a website posted here a month or so ago, can't find it, but here is their main wabsite, you should be able to follow the links.

SideRoads

Thanks Sideroads. What did you mean by "no camp hosting sites, yet."....? Are they just not available from the NPS or do you just not use them?

Our first camp host site will be with the Texas State Park at Palo Duro Canyon. Not sure how it will fit. I really enjoy the NPS, even though more hours may be required for some locations that what may be required as a camp host.

The historic interpretation sites have been an excellent match for me. The NPS uses Camp Hosts at some locations, Greenbelt, MD, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, probably any other location where they have campgrounds.

There are some Camp Host locations that also involve historic locations,,,,i.e. Palo Duro Canyon. There isn't anything wrong with Camp Hosting, if that is what someone enjoys...different strokes, etc. When we started with the NPS, wasn't quite sure how it would go. It has been a great experience, and Rangers have been outstanding to work with.

NPS uses a variety of volunteers. At Death Valley, there were camp hosts, maintenance workers, visitor center workers, people giving tours of Scotty's Castle, and even a couple who wandered around the park recording GPS coordinates of pipes and electric lines. There are plenty of NPS sites that would love to have a skilled carpenter and would provide a hookup site in exchange. Some might even give you a small stipend to cover food, propane, etc. Check out the site listed in SideRoad's message volunteer.gov or pick a park that you think you'd like to spend time at and give them a call, asking for the volunteer coordinator. Enjoy your travels.

You don't have to be a volunteer worker either - plenty of workamping jobs pay an hourly wage as well as a site and perqs. Most of the workamping jobs I have held made at least some use of my handyman skills - electrical, plumbing, carpentry and mechanical repair. The managers of smaller parks are usually thrilled to get somebody who can do work around the campground - there is always a lot of maintenance to do and some may have construction as well. Large, corporate operated campgrounds usually have a dedicated maintenance staff, and you might be able to apply for a position like that too.

List your skills on your resume when you apply for a workamping job. Posting your resume on workamper.com is a good way to publicize it and your skills.

Search Happy Vagabonds, then click on rv jobs, In the left column it will list by state. Some jobs pay and some are volunteer. It is a free site. Try a search on Work For Rvers, It is updated at least weekly. Happy Trails: Irover

SideRoads

Hello to all. We have followed this forum for a while now and find it to be very informative and very useful so we really value your opinions.. We are in the planning stages of making the "Great Escape"—we are just waiting for our house to sell and with the high end house sales down in our neck of the woods here in Texas this could take a while. We have been RVing for many years and recently purchased our new fifth wheel and we are looking forward to full timing. We will subscribe to workamp.com when we get closer to our departure date. We are only looking for a camp site and some utilities and not looking for ant additional income. Here are some of the questions we have.

Are the volunteer positions and work camp jobs just geared for camp hosts? I am a 33 year master carpenter and would love to use my skills out there. I also know just about every phase of construction and how to use just about any tool involved with construction from painting and sheetrock to electrical and plumbing. My question is will these skills benefit me in the world of work camping and is there a need for my type of knowledge? I always said the only thing I cant fix is a broken heart. I have many good years left in me and would rather my body parts wear out than rust out.

Thanks in advance for any input. Look forward to meeting some of you some day. Y’all seem like such a nice bunch!

I second the suggestion about Habitat for Humanity. I'm not a master craftsman, but we did build most of our own house after volunteering for numerous Habitat projects and learning the different trade skills. It pays nothing except the reward for giving of oneself. There is a christian organization called NOMADS that would definitely have a need for your skills. Usually, a free campsite is available.

The opportunity to use and get paid for your specialty skills is a product of your resume and interview process. And I suspect it will give you an edge in being considered for a work camping job.